Boost for players as National Lottery reduces number of balls in draw

The number of balls in the National Lottery draw has been reduced by two, giving players an increased chance of winning.

The change delivers better chances of winning across every prize tier in Lotto, Lotto Plus One and Lotto Plus Two.

The odds of winning the Lotto jackpot or top prize amounts improve from one in 10.7 million to one in 8.1 million across the Lotto and Lotto Plus games.

The odds of winning any prize on Lotto go from one in 28.7 to one in 25.4 for each line played and the odds of winning any prize on Lotto played with Plus go from one in 9.6 to one in 8.5.

The Lotto Plus 2 top prize will increase from €250,000 to €1 million, while the Lotto Plus 1 top prize remains at €1 million.

A new Lotto draw will also take place on Mondays as well as Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The new updates that apply to Lotto and Lotto Plus games will come into effect this autumn. It is the first time in eight years changes have been made.

National Lottery chief executive Cian Murphy said: “We’ve been listening to our players and these enhancements have been designed with our players front of mind and with the goal of creating the best possible game experience.

“By removing two balls, the odds of winning have improved across Lotto and the Plus games, while the enhanced Lotto Plus 2 prize and an additional draw night will give players even more chances to win.”

Despite the increased odds of winning, the cost of playing Lotto will remain the same with two lines costing €4 and €6 to play two lines of Lotto with Lotto Plus.

There were 15 Lotto millionaires last year. Given these changes, the National Lottery expects this number to almost double, jumping to 28 on average each year.

The Lotto jackpot cap will reduce from €19.06 million to €16 million. However, the capping mechanism will remain the same.

As a result of these game changes, the National Lottery expects the average jackpot winner to scoop €5.9 million. With the 47-ball game, this jackpot figure was €6.9 million.

Under the changes, the Lotto Raffle will no longer be an element of the game.